Indian equity benchmarks opened sharply lower on Friday because investors became cautious before the upcoming Union Budget which will take place this weekend. The market profit-taking process affected all sectors of the economy.
The Sensex dropped more than 350 points during early trading while the Nifty 50 index decreased to below 25,300. Tata Steel and Eternal stocks emerged as leading decliners after both companies experienced a 2% decrease in their stock values.
Market Overview
The stock market experienced a decline on Friday which happened after the markets reached higher closing prices on Thursday following a turbulent trading session. The Sensex increased by 222 points which represented a 0.27% gain and closed at 82,566.37 while the Nifty index rose by 76 points which equated to a 0.3% increase to end at 25,418.90. After investors finished reading the Economic Survey document their mood became better but people became more careful before the important policy announcements which would follow.
Global Market Cues
Global markets presented a mixed picture:
- S&P 500 futures slipped 0.6%
- Japan’s Topix edged down 0.1%
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.4%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.6%
- Shanghai Composite fell 1.5%
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.7%
Stocks in Focus
- Tata Steel, Eternal: Down nearly 2% each
- Paytm: Shares slipped despite a sharp quarter-on-quarter rise in net profit
- Swiggy: Fell sharply after reporting a wider Q3 loss
- Voltas: Declined after weak December-quarter results
- Dabur India: Gained after posting a rise in Q3 profit
- Tata Motors: Dropped following a steep fall in quarterly net profit
Commodities and Currency
Gold prices faced a significant decline on Friday because traders expected the US Federal Reserve to adopt a stricter monetary policy. The precious metal was still set to achieve its highest monthly increase since 1980. The rupee showed a small recovery from its historical lowest point, as it traded at a slightly higher value against the US dollar during the initial trading session.
Outlook
The markets will experience volatile conditions during the entire session because investors choose to remain inactive until the Budget announcement while they monitor international developments and corporate earnings announcements and foreign exchange rates.
